


Debts Come Due

by ktbl



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Father-Son Relationship, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Parent-Child Relationship, Secret Relationship, Temporary Character Death, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, What Trouble Could They Possibly Get Into, kombat kids - Freeform, mentions of past Johnny/Sonya, mentions of past Kenshi/Suchin, minor Raiden visit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27707849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ktbl/pseuds/ktbl
Summary: He touched his mind, and the telepathy woke like a sleeping beast. Sonya had laughed when Kenshi called once to check in, to let her know all was as well as he could have hoped for. “You got yourself into this shit, you can get yourself out of it,” she’d laughed. “Good fucking luck with that. Always up for a challenge, aren’t you?”“Any advice?”“Not that I’m giving you.” Another soft laugh, muffled through the phone, and something in his chest had skipped at the laugh, the one he knew was genuine and had to be matched by a light in her eyes and usually also a brush of her hands or a bump of her shoulder or hip into him. “He land you on your ass?”“I underestimated him. Never again.”--Kenshi's virtually magical skill at avoiding responsibility for his actions finally catches up with him when he finds himself slammed with debts and promises - to himself, to his son, to others - all coming due at once.
Relationships: Cassie Cage & Takahashi Kenshi, Jacqui Briggs & Cassie Cage, Jacqui Briggs & Takahashi Takeda, Sonya Blade/Takahashi Kenshi, Takahashi Kenshi & Takahashi Takeda
Comments: 12
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

“Something’s bothering you.”

“I am fine, Sonya.” Kenshi heard the shuffle of sheets, the low thump of the heavy comforter she favored, as he began to strip off his armor and set it carefully on the table and stand that lived in the corner of her bedroom.

“I call bullshit.” Her voice was thoughtful, words careful. “You’ve been quiet, even for you. A hell of a lot less sarcastic. Something’s always up when you get like this.”

“It’s Takeda,” he said, unclipping buckles, and laying them carefully down in a long-since-automatic order. “Hanzo says he will make chujin soon.”

Sonya let out a long, low whistle. “Damn, that’s fast. You didn’t know?” He could hear the surprise in her voice, but - maybe there was pleasure, too. He hoped there was, for his sake if not Takeda’s.

“Hanzo just sent me word today. Fastest to chujin in a very long time. Takeda’s final test is in a few days.” He couldn’t keep the smile from his face, feeling it in the muscles. He was proud, even if he’d had very little to do with it.

“You should be proud. Good kid you have there.”

“And you would know.”

“Yeah.” There was a pause, and he dared a gentle brush across her mind, nonsensical images pouring through him. He recognized them from what she’d recounted about the Blood Code debacle. Her voice continued, oblivious to the telepathic touch. “And that doesn’t excite you, make you happy?”

“I am immensely proud of him. But I have not seen him in years. He is not… fond of me. And he and I must talk - about Suchin, and about our family. The family gift.”

“Hey, that’s a decision you made, and I’m not about to step into the middle of someone else’s family drama. I’ve had more than enough of that.” He could imagine the hands held up towards him, spread wide as if to push all of it away from her. “You think he’s a telepath too, then?”

“It’s likely. There’s only one way to find out.” He unzipped the thick padded shirt, tugging it off, and resisting a shudder as the air in the room brushed against his skin. Even with the space between them, he could hear the little suck of breath she made, the slight increase in her heart rate. He hid the smile as he turned, pulling out a shirt from the drawer he kept. “Would you have put Cassie in protective custody, somehow, if you could?”

Sonya snorted. “Like she would have let me. No, there’s a reason I didn’t fight for full custody, or even split - just visitation. Wouldn’t have been fair to her and Johnny wouldn’t ever have gone for it. But still - there were threats I couldn’t remain unaware of, and it was safer this way. Enough fan mail, enough death threats from fans who hated me for existing, for marrying him, for having his kid - even threats against Cass sometimes. Women who threatened me, thought they could parent her better, thought he shouldn’t be burdened with a daughter. Just safer to not put her in the middle of a fight or put her more at risk. She hates me for it, and maybe she’ll know the truth one day - if she ever asks. But I think Takeda’s going to ask you, so you need to be ready for that.”

“Sometimes I hate your reasoning.” She had no response for that, and after he finished readying himself to sleep, he joined her in her bed. No matter how much time he spent in it, and how much of her bedroom and her house she had adjusted for him, it was still hers. It hadn’t become theirs, and sometimes he wondered if it ever would be.

He slid under the blankets and sat up, still thinking, listening to her slow breathing and easy heartbeat.

“You’re here,” she said finally, “but you’re already gone.”

“Hmm?” He blinked out of habit rather than need, turning to her voice.

“You’re here, she said again, and there was the muffled sound of her tapping the bed, “but you’re not here.” He heard more movement, felt the warm press of her lips as she kissed his temple. “And I don’t need to be a telepath to know it, either.” Kenshi let out a grudging chuckle.

“What do I say to him? Does he sound more like Suchin, like me? How badly will it hurt when I hear him?”

“He probably sounds more like Hanzo than anybody, now.” She rested her chin on his shoulder, her skin hot against his. “It’s been a few years since I saw him - back during all that Blood Code bullshit - but he already seemed to be a mix of the two of you. I don’t know what Suchin did, or how much of her was in what I saw. But I could see Hanzo, and I could still see some things under there that are definitely genetic Takahashi.”

“And what were they?”

“Oh, I won’t spoil the fun.” She knelt behind him, arms loose and hands resting on his thighs. She had a habit of putting herself behind him when he was out of armor, guarding his weak spot.

“I may be gone for a time,” he said into the silence, resting his hands atop hers. They were smaller, warmer, more rough and callused, and he was reminded again about how compact her frame was, despite the expansive, often brusque, personality.

“It’s your life, Kenshi. Your kid. You’re gone as long as you need to be. Just keep me in the loop, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. I’ll keep an ear to the ground and let you know if anything is coming that I want - or need - to tap you for.”

Lacing his fingers with hers, he leaned back into her warmth. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

“Stupid? Me?”

“Don’t to anything Johnny or I would do.”

“That’s better.” He could feel her chest shake lightly with laughter. “That’s a guarantee, anyway. I have the two of you to do the impulsive bullshit and I have to rein you back in. I’ll be fine. Go take care of your kid, your family, tomorrow. Just let me know how it all goes, all right?” Her warmth moved away and she slid back under the blankets, her weight settling down.

“Not going to offer me a send-off?” He turned his head towards her and felt her fingers brush against his arm, knuckles graze his side.

“Thought you could use the sleep and I’d wreck you in the morning before I went on duty,” she chuckled. “But if you want… I think I can wake up a little more.”

Meeting Takeda again, after all those years, was not easy. Kenshi waited, hidden, while Hanzo sent his student through the final challenge. Observing the fight telepathically, Kenshi felt his chest swell with satisfaction, proud of what he ‘saw’. Not so proud of being knocked down by his son in what followed after, but he’d been so shaken and uneasy, he hadn’t fought his hardest. Hadn’t want to hurt Takeda physically - knowing how much damage he’d done emotionally. If he knocked Takeda down, just after he’d won victory over his sensei, then it would do nothing for their relationship, nothing for his ego or pride. Easier to fall now, restrain himself, let Takeda win victory over his estranged father.

He moved like Hanzo, whip-fast and easy. It was how Suchin had moved, too; graceful, finding weak points, pushing as hard as she could until she broke through. He could sense Suchin and Hanzo in the boy - young man - and so very little of himself. _You knew it would be like this. Why so surprised?_

Until he touched his mind, and the telepathy woke like a sleeping beast. Sonya had laughed when Kenshi called once to check in, to let her know all was as well as he could have hoped for. “You got yourself into this shit, you can get yourself out of it,” she’d laughed. “Good fucking luck with that. Always up for a challenge, aren’t you?”

“Any advice?”

“Not that I’m giving _you_.” Another soft laugh, muffled through the phone, and something in his chest had skipped at the laugh, the one he knew was genuine and had to be matched by a light in her eyes and usually also a brush of her hands or a bump of her shoulder or hip into him. “He land you on your ass?”

“I underestimated him. Never again.”

“Kids’ll do that to you. Always surprises. All right - you take care of yourself, and I’ll see you when you’re back in town. Bring Takeda if you want. Let me know and I’ll get someone in to your apartment to make up the other bed in there and get you guest supplies for a teenager.”

“He may need to go back to the Shirai Ryu,” Kenshi said after a moment. “I don’t want this to be too much, too fast…”

“Whatever you want to do. I’m easy.”

He’d made a sound of disbelief. “Hardly. You are one of the most difficult women I’ve ever encountered.”

“You made this bed, you lie in it,” she had said cheerfully, voice still warm and easy. In hindsight, he would be suspicious about this much humor from her. “I’ve got a meeting in five, I need to read the agenda and briefing before it. Take care of yourself - and him.”

“Copy. Take care of yourself too, Sonya.”

“Don’t I always?” A chuckle again, a little rough. “Blade out.”

“Telepaths.” Takeda shook his head, sitting on the bench in the Chinese town. “I still can’t get over it. Do you have any idea how much my life would have been different if I knew I was a telepath?”

“Significantly, I’m sure. You’ll learn - in time - to predict your opponent’s moves, not just through their body but their mind. And how to use your skills to assault their mind as well, when needed.” Kenshi felt his mouth pull in a smile. “Another weapon in your hand, as it were.”

“Did Mom know?”

“That I was a telepath?” Kenshi paused. “She did. She told me she was relying on it, to make sure I knew everything she wanted. She became very good at thinking one thing and doing another.” He spared a laugh. “Regularly managed to land hits on me when she did, too. I could never predict her.”

“Sounds like her.”

The silence filled the space between them, thick and heavy. “And now?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you do, that you left me with Master Hasashi?”

“I work with the US Army Special Forces as a consultant. There is a general, she handles inter-realm defense. You’ve met her - General Sonya Blade. I work with her.”

“I remember her. She - and that guy, and those girls, with Reiko…”

“Yes.” Kenshi chuckled. Johnny would be mortified to be relegated to _that guy_.

“Good thing you weren’t there, or I probably would have tried to kill you, Reiko and Havik or not.”

Kenshi pressed his lips together, swallowing hard around something suddenly in his throat.

“It would have been difficult for me to try to put you down.”

“Doubt you could.”

“Takeda, you test me,” Kenshi said, trying for levity. “You are my son, and I do not want to fight you as hard as I can because it would be uneven and unfair.”

“Come on. Try and knock me down. For real, this time.” Takeda’s voice was proud and cocky and Kenshi had to force the laugh down. Takeda sounded so much like he had as a boy, daring, unable to say no. “Come on. I can take it.”

It didn’t take long before Takeda was on the ground, grunting and groaning with surprise and pain, and Kenshi had barely begun to feel like he would need to exert himself. Restraint seemed to be more difficult than full force. Takeda really was good, and more pride and pleasure bubbled up in him, stretching itself out into places in his heart that had felt oddly vacant.

“That hurts,” his son said, almost panting between breaths.

“As it should.” Kenshi crouched down beside him, reaching out a hand to help him up. “Just because I am blind doesn’t mean I can’t fight at all.”

“I can tell.” Takeda sat up on his own, and Kenshi heard the hiss of an inhaled breath and another half-stifled groan of pain. “What did you do?”

“Used your own speed and power against you. I had to relearn much, after I lost my sight. It included how to let my opponents do my work for them.” Kenshi pushed up off the ground, rolling his head slightly on his neck. “Now. Do you think you are up for some lessons in your new gift, or must we do that again and exhaust you physically?”

“We can try. I have no idea what I’m going to do, though.”

“I’ll give you the same lessons my father gave me. With Hanzo, did you ever meditate?”

“Some.” Takeda’s voice was grudging, reluctant. “It’s not something I enjoy.”

“For telepathy, to start, you will need to clear your mind to know what is part of someone else’s. We will sit, and you will try to think of nothing, until it is clear. And then you will see what you can find in mine, or someone else’s, as we sit.” Kenshi sat down on the park bench, crossing his legs at the ankles and relaxing. He would need to guard his mind well against Takeda’s prying; if he was as much a prodigy as he seemed he might be, there was no guarantee what he would find.

“I really hoped it wouldn’t involve meditating,” Takeda grumbled, shaking his head. “But hell, I’ll take it.”

“It’s worth it, once you put the work in,” Kenshi assured him. “Now, clear your mind…”

And so weeks passed, Kenshi and Takeda negotiating the new and fractious boundaries of their relationship. What worked one day did not the next, and sometimes their sparring practices grew all too vicious. Kenshi had never been a parent, had no idea how to parent - and clearly what he had noted from Johnny and Sonya would serve him only questionably with Takeda. It took nearly over a month until they finally found their peace, something akin to a friendship more than a parent-child relationship. Kenshi hoped it could - it would - change over time.

“Someone keeps calling.” Takeda’s voice broke through the sound of the shower, hot water pounding into Kenshi’s aching muscles. It was much needed, the reprieve from a day of sparring and telepathic training that had nearly pushed him to his limit.. “The caller ID says Cassandra?”

“Answer it, please? I’ll be there in a minute.” Kenshi rinsed the soap from his hair, worry coursing through him. He eavesdropped on the conversation as he hurried out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist.

“Takahashi… no, my dad’s - yes, this is Takeda. He’s on his way, just - okay, slow down, please. Oh. I remember you. You tried to kill everybody-“

Kenshi grabbed the phone from Takeda. “Cassie. I assume this isn’t an invitation to a surprise party for your father?”

“Mom got hurt,” came the voice on the other end, strained and wavering and trying desperately not to show it. “Bad. She expressly forbade me to call anyone, so of course I called Dad, and Uncle Jax, and now you.”

“How bad is bad, Cassandra?”

“They’re talking about getting Raiden or Fujin over here to get her to the Jinsei chamber.”

“The Jinsei chamber…” Takeda trailed off, mouth snapping shut with an audible click. Kenshi arched an eyebrow, but held a finger up as if to silence Takeda. They both knew what kind of injuries required a visit to the Sky Temple.

“What happened?” He had to keep his voice even, mind neutral, knowing that Takeda was likely trying to read it for anything he could.

“You didn’t know? You’re her XO, even if you’re not actually in her COC. You _had_ to know, she’s had this on the boil for weeks, apparently. Mom said, before they put her out… she said it was a bad life choice. She went for something tied to the Black Dragons-“

“Of course she did,” Kenshi muttered.

“-And they had rigged it to blow. Her backup… wasn’t good.” He could hear the accusation left unvoiced; it wasn’t _you_. With her core of soldiers lost during the fighting in Z’Unkharah, dead at the hands of Shokan and oni, Sonya had never quite managed to regain a team she trusted so much. “They have her knocked out right now, and on a morphine drip.”

Kenshi exhaled slowly. “All right. Thank you for calling me. I am with Takeda, and we are training. It will take a few days before I could manage to get back, but if she’s that badly off…” He could hear Cassie’s breathing on the other end, the uneven jagged sounds. It didn’t take a telepath to know that she was worried, and was trying to be brave and composed and not say anything.

There was an inhale, a pause, and a slow controlled exhalation. When she spoke next, her voice was firm and sounded all too much like her mother’s. “She skipped my birthday to pull your ass out of a fire, Kenshi. I remember it. I remember my mom not being there. Dad giving me gifts and all I had wanted was her with me. But she was on an op for _you_ , some guy I hadn’t ever met. You _owe_ me, because she skipped out on her kid to save your ass. So you can do whatever it fucking takes to get back here for me, for her. Get the back here and bully her, do whatever it is you do so that she listens to you because she listens to you when she doesn’t listen to anybody else. She waited until you left, you realize? She waited until _you left_ to pull this.”

Kenshi started to speak, and Cassie cut him off. “No. You owe me this. I don’t care if you have to make Raiden do a door-to-door. I will read you Dad’s platinum card number and you can book a fucking first-class flight for you and Takeda and Hanzo and whoever else the fuck it is you’re with. But you get back here and make sure my mom doesn’t die.”

“You sound like her,” Kenshi said, confronted with the angry voice on the other end and trying to keep his heart from leaping out of his chest. “I’ll do my best.”

“You better, or you’re going to be hiding from the Red Dragon _and_ all of the Special Forces when I tell them you let the General die when you could have done something about it.”

“That’s a low blow, Cassie.”

“It’s my _mother_. Tell me to my face I shouldn’t do everything I can. Tell me she’s not worth it. She’s _dying_ , Kenshi.” Her voice quaked, on the edge of worry and wrath, and not sure what side to come down on. He’d been there a time or two himself, knew what it was like. She took a sharp breath and continued. “I fucking _dare_ you. Get back here. Clock’s ticking.”

Kenshi heard the dial tone before he could speak again, and held the phone out to Takeda. “We need to book a flight.”

“We?”

“We,” Kenshi confirmed, pressing his eyes shut and trying desperately not to think of a hospital bed half a world away and the woman lying in it.


	2. Chapter 2

“We haven’t been doing this long, but even I can tell there’s something off.” Takeda eyed Kenshi, pitching his voice just loud enough to carry over the engine. He’d never flown in an airplane - let alone first class - and the entire experience was making his head spin. When his father (still a thing hard to wrap his head around) called the girl to tell her about their flight details, he’d hung up and shaken his head and apologized in advance.

The girl’s father - Johnny Cage, a name even Takeda recognized - had apparently said he’d ‘take care of things’. And that had led to a VIP experience from the moment they checked into the airport and found their tickets upgraded to first class. If this was what it would be like as part of his father’s family… more than a little bit of him was seething with frustration that he’d been denied this. There was another part of it that was grateful.

Now, he eyed his father, taking in the nearly white-knuckled grip Kenshi had on the armrests as their flight soared into the sky. Takeda tried a little bit of telepathy, brushing against his father’s mind. It was carefully blank, but an underlying level of discomfort - not quite fear, but tension and displeasure and a tendril of worry.

“General Blade has been a friend since long before you were born. I met Johnny first, and then he introduced me to Sonya. We all worked together - Johnny and I as consultants for her. After the Netherrealm War ended, I went to travel the world, met your mother, fell in love.” Kenshi’s words were careful, and Takeda scrutinized him and his every word, trying to probe beneath it with his burgeoning telepathy. There was worry - and that Kenshi wasn’t telling him everything - that some of it had to wait.

“I infiltrated the Red Dragon,” the older man continued, “and then when I made a mistake, lost my cover… She was the one to call me and tell me you existed, that you and Suchin were under threat. After I dropped you with Hanzo, I was under attack - I couldn’t get out.” Kenshi wriggled his fingertips. “I called her, and she came to evac me, her and her squad. She missed her daughter’s birthday to do it.”

“That’s the girl you were talking to - one of the ones who were possessed by the Blood Code?”

“Yes.” Kenshi’s face seemed to flatten, nostrils flaring and his expression settling in a neutrality even Hanzo would have admired. “That is Cassandra. So Cassie is calling that in now - saying that her mother left her family to rescue me, so I need to leave everything to rescue her mother, rebalance things. You’re coming with me - clearly - and what she thinks I’ll do to help Sonya, I do not know.”

Takeda felt the words like a punch to his gut, the muscles tightening up. A feeling boiled up in him that he couldn’t name, heating his skin and feeling his heartbeat pick up. “You’re interrupting my training for this? After abandoning me for how many years? Mæ̀ - Mom - died because of you, and you didn’t get back in time to save her.” 

“Takeda, please. I owe you…” Kenshi swallowed heavily, shifting in his seat to turn and face him. “I owe you a substantial amount, and I know that. I got to Suchin as quickly as I could, and it was not fast enough. I saved you - and I put you in the best place that I could to ensure you stayed safe, because even the Red Dragon would not go against Hanzo and his clan very willingly. I have - I owe you debts I cannot repay, and I have no doubt I will spend the rest of my life making amends for my failures.” His mouth twisted downward as if he’d eaten sour plums. “But in this, Cassie has the right of it. And beyond that, her mother is a close friend. If she is dying then I would like to be there for her, and her family, the way I should have been for you. Just because I erred so badly once does not mean I need to continue to do so.”

Those words sat with Takeda for the rest of the long flight. Master Hasashi had always spoken about the importance of family, and the ability to forgive, and let go. He knew he should be able to forgive Kenshi, to understand why he’d done what he’d done, and to let it go. Kenshi had come back, after all, hadn’t he? Come back, to teach him in a way that only Kenshi could?

He couldn’t forgive, and forget, not yet. Even if it meant a life riding the coattails of the rich and famous, that meant first class flights and telepathy… this wasn’t the life he had grown up with, either in Thailand or with the Shirai Ryu.

Takeda sighed heavily and turned to look out the window at the dark sky, and closed his eyes. He slept fitfully, interrupted by everything, and felt like he’d been in a sparring match with an impossible-to-beat, invisible opponent. The announcement for descent came sooner than he expected. He turned to Kenshi, taking in the exhausted look on his face, the way even his skin seemed to have gone slack and tired.

“You okay?”

“I don’t enjoy flights. Johnny tried, with the upgrade, but - I still hate them. He’s considerate, but it’s easiest as long as he can throw money at it.” Kenshi reached forward, fingers curling unerringly around a bottle of water and uncapping it. He took a long drink, finishing off the small bottle. “I can’t guarantee he’ll be considerate when - if - we meet him, though. It will probably not be pretty.”

“What do you mean?”

“The divorce would have been acrimonious if Sonya could have been bothered to care. I think she still loves him, in some way, but they grew distant and strained. He served her with the divorce papers and she didn’t bat an eye. I think he had hoped to make her angry, refuse to do it and fight to make it work. She doesn’t back down easily. When she didn’t fight, just signed without complaint…” Kenshi’s words fell away into the ambient engine noise, and he sighed. “She’s still important to him, and the third-brightest star in his sky. The second is his daughter.”

“Who’s the first?” Takeda couldn’t stop himself from asking.

Kenshi laughed, quiet and slightly hoarse in the cabin.

“Himself.”

Shortly before landing, one of the flight attendants stopped by their seats to inform them that special arrangements had been made for their disembarking, and they’d be first off and would be met at the end of the bridge by someone. Takeda tried to school his expression to stillness, as if this happened to him every day. His mentor could summon hellfire and _teleport_ \- being met at the gate shouldn’t mean anything. And yet as they arrived, carrying their small bags, the figures meeting him with ‘Takahashi’ on a piece of paper still surprised him. Somehow, the presence of a woman in a very nice suit and a man in a military uniform shouldn’t affect him. The pair whisked Takeda and Kenshi through immigration and customs with a speed that made Takeda’s head spin. Kenshi seemed to know both of them, and they lapsed quickly into a blend of technical jargon he only partially followed. The woman was some kind of aide or assistant to Cage, here to make sure everything moved properly through the airport; the man in uniform was the General’s executive officer, here to throw his weight around and get them into the base.

“It isn’t much,” the woman said cheerfully with a plastic smile, “but it’s the best we could do on short notice. Mr. Cage is a little distracted right now.”

The solider flicked his eyes to Kenshi and then over to Takeda, sizing him up. “We’re going to need to finish getting his clearances. We need a photo, I can push it to the base and they should be able to get an ID before we get there. My request for a helo was vetoed,” he added wryly. “You’re going on wheels.”

“How is she?”

“Still critical. They’ve stopped all the internal bleeding and… well, how much have you been told?”

“Nothing aside from the demand that I get out here immediately.”

“Here’s a white wall. We’ll get the kid’s photo and shoot it over and I can debrief you on the ride.” The soldier jerked his chin towards the wall.

“I don’t-“ Takeda began.

“Look, you want on base or not? You’re going to need an ID and it’ll speed things up like hell if we can do it now instead of having to stop when we get there.”

Reluctantly - and for the first time, wondering if he could truly kill someone with his brain - Takeda backed up to the white wall, running a hand through his hair and rubbing at his eyes to look slightly more awake, less fazed by the flight than he truly was. The soldier pulled out a phone, muttering to himself, and took what was almost certainly the least flattering photo of Takeda’s life.

“Let’s go.” The woman’s press-on smile hadn’t wobbled even a bit. “The limo’s here, and then I’ll leave you in the hands of Railley here.”

Takeda had never ridden in a limo before and sat dumbly as he half-listened to the conversation around him about massive brain trauma, collapsing buildings, shrapnel and punctured lungs. It came down to the fact that something had happened, “the General doing what she does best” - whatever _that_ was, it had left Kenshi actually _laughing_ despite the seriousness of the situation. And then a building had blown up or been demolished or something like that, and she’d been trapped under something until they could get her out.

Crush injuries - among others - had led to internal bleeding and the current state of a medically induced coma until she could be put into a more stable condition. The surgeons were working on her as much as they could, and she was going through the blood bank like it was her job.

“Good thing Skarlet isn’t here.” Kenshi leaned back, hands on his thighs. “I expect that Cassie knows we’re coming and is going to march out to meet us and possibly end up with my head on a spike, if she gets her way.”

“Miss Cage is a little wound up right now. She and her father have been haunting the halls. I don’t think either of them have been to sleep anywhere.”

Takeda caught a flash from his father, and reached out gently, carefully, with his telepathy. _Worry_ first, an emotional knotting up that colored everything. A flash of thought - _get Cassie and Johnny to Sonya’s, make them sleep_. Emotions pounded fast on its heels, _concern-friendship-affection-worry_ and a sense of duty. Another thought flickered hot on its heels, _donate blood,_ followed by the emotion of _hate-fear-dislike_ about needles. Then the thought - no image, just like reading words in Kenshi’s mind, _her body gone cold and bloodless, all the warmth gone_ , the idea of _cupping her cheek in his hand, thumb across her lips, but no warmth-only cold and waxy_ with the _knowing_ how her face fit in his palm and how warm it should be, a sense of _dread-worry_ , and then suddenly a psychic wall slammed up so hard Takeda physically jerked back and banged his head into the side of the car.

“You were not invited.” Kenshi’s voice was cool and neutral, without even turning to Takeda.

Takeda crossed his arms, biting back a retort. He reached up to rub his head, pulling out a bottle of water from the small refrigerator in the limo. He drank half of it without pause, mulling over the thoughts and emotions he’d gleaned from Kenshi’s mind. So he didn’t like needles, and had concern for the messed-up family he was going to see, and whatever else was there he pointedly did not want Takeda to get into.

This was getting interesting.

“Kenshi!”

The name rung out loudly in a half-familiar voice as they stepped out of the limo in front of the military hospital. Takeda watched the slim form of a young blonde woman run from the doors down the sidewalk and virtually skid to a stop in front of Kenshi.

“I said I’d come, Cassie. But what you think I can do…” Kenshi held his hands out placatingly, low to either side, looking at her. She was shorter than him, but Takeda was pretty sure she was taller than the last time he’d seen her, a few years ago.

“Fuck if I know, but you’re going to do whatever it is.” Defiantly, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “She’s still out. They’re not sure she’s dying anymore, but it’s a cerebral hemorrhage that has her down right now. Medically-induced coma. You’re on the list to go see her, _if_ you can. Dad and I have been up there except for the couple hours they make us go.” She might have a pretty face if it didn’t look so anguished, or like it wanted to turn into a snarl. Takeda shook the thought from his head.

“Where is your father?”

“Up with her. Jacqui’s up there too, right now.”

Takeda watched Kenshi pause, as if weighing his options.

“I’ve brought Takeda, who you may remember. Perhaps you and Jacqui can take him out for lunch? And drive your father back to Sonya’s - or even my apartment - and get him to sleep, while I sit with her.”

“I think we can do that.” Cassie’s look was almost anguished, Takeda was sure of it. “I mean, I kind of owe you a lunch for trying to kill you.”

“I think it’s going to take more than a lunch to make up for that.”

A half-smile cracked across Cassie’s face, and she snorted in response.

“Fine. Lunch and groceries. I’ll bring you up and then I’ll drop Dad at Mom’s. He’ll do better there than at your place.” She grimaced. “I’ll just clear out all the booze first because I don’t want him relapsing. How much does Mom have, do you know?”

“I know where she keeps the bottle of whatever it is she drinks, but I’ve never reached further back to find out.”

“So at least one bottle of whisky, got it.” She groaned, and shook her head, and glanced at Takeda before turning back to Kenshi. “You guys look like shit, by the way.”

Takeda jerked his head up, looking at her indignantly, and she smirked.

“Aren’t you Hollywood types supposed to be nice to people?” Kenshi reached out and clapped a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. Jealousy surged up into Takeda’s chest. “Lead me up - and tell me how to get up there - and then you can go eat and rest, yourself. I’m sure you’re no better off.”

Takeda followed a few steps behind, trying not to look as wide-eyed and childish as he felt as he stepped into the hospital. Lab coats and scrubs mixed with uniforms, and they ascended in an elevator and Cassie led the way, giving Kenshi a running monologue about steps and distances and the small kinds of nuance - right angles and t-intersections and the nurse’s station and the fact that the desk protruded ever so slightly into the corridor - that Takeda wouldn’t have thought of.

She knew his father and what he needed better than he did. They stopped outside a room, the door cracked. Cassie stepped in, and he could hear her voice from the hall.

“Come on, Dad, Jacqui. Kenshi’s here, he’s gonna take over. I mean, if anyone is going to get through the coma to her, it’ll be the telepath, right?”

“Got it,” came a young woman’s voice, sweet and smooth and one that pulled at Takeda’s memories, familiar but not settling in place quickly.

“Come on, Dad,” Cassie repeated, and Takeda stepped aside from the door as a young woman, slim and dark-skinned and with a head full of complicated braids, stepped out.

“Hi, Takahashi-san.” She greeted Kenshi politely, and it knocked her several notches up in Takeda’s estimation that she knew the appropriate Japanese term. Then she turned to him. “You’re… Takeda, right?” She tipped her head sideways slightly. “We met, uh-“

“I remember,” he replied, feeling more tongue-tied than he should. “You weren’t yourself.”

“You can say that again.” She smiled and the bright grin split her face cheerfully for a moment before it slipped away.

“How’s he doing, Jacqueline?”

“It’s-“

“ _He’s_ doing fine,” came a man’s voice, tired but easy. “At least as much as _he_ can be.”Johnny Cage, followed by Cassie, stepped out of the door. “Good to see you, man.”

“Wish I could say the same.” Kenshi’s smile was there and gone and he clapped Johnny on the shoulder hard, squeezing. Johnny reciprocated, and Takeda’s eyes were on his father enough to see him adjust his step with the force of it.

“Bad joke.”

“The only kind I have,” Kenshi replied. He tipped his head towards Takeda. “Takeda, Johnny Cage. Johnny, Takeda Takahashi.”

Johnny turned the full force of his attention on Takeda for a moment, and it was like being hit in the stomach. He had a presence, and there was a flash of a reflexive smile that looked like it should be on a magazine cover or a photograph instead of from a real person, and it was almost the same as Cassie’s.

“Looks like you for sure. Poor kid. We met before, the-“

“Why does everyone have to keep mentioning it? That was _awful_.” Takeda knew he sounded surly or petulant, and didn’t care.

“It’s the one thing we’ve got in common?” Cassie nudged her father. “And, I mean, it’s kind of… awful, but par for the course with what our parents have been through, right? Like, you got raised by a normal mom and then wham! Hellspawn for a teacher, there was the Netherrealm War, and then-“

“Save it, Cass,” Johnny advised. His eyes still on Takeda, it was as if he was seeing down and through him. “You guys should go do lunch, and I’ll- figure something out.”

“Drop you at Mom’s first,” Cassie countered, jerking her head down the hall, back the way they came. “Come on. If anything happens, Kenshi-“

“I’ll call, believe me.” He nodded to them and then stepped inside the room, and Takeda found himself following behind the whirlwind that was the Cages and Jacqui Briggs.

“So what’s he like?” Takeda looked across at Cassie as he asked the question.

“What’s who like?” Cassie stopped with a fry halfway to her mouth. They’d dropped Johnny off at a house, Cassie letting him in and then returning with a pair of bottles that she put in the trunk of the car. She’d driven them to one of the restaurants on the base, ordering burgers and fries and milkshakes. The trio settled into a booth, Jacqui and Cassie on one side, Takeda on the other. He followed Jacqui’s example, just following in Cassie’s wake. She commanded attention evenwhen she wan’t trying to, drawing eyes with her gestures and voice and sheer presence. It was almost overwhelming, and he found Jacqui a lot more relaxing.

“Kenshi.” He reached for a napkin to wipe errant sauce from his fingers.

“You’re asking _me_ what your dad is like?” The fry wavered in her grasp, and her eyes were bright and wide with surprise.

“I haven’t seen him at all since I was eight. You’re in his _phone_ and you tore into him about your mother.” Takeda looked up at her. “From what it sounds like, you know him better than I can ever hope to.”

“I guess.” Cassie blinked a few times, and her expressive face turned considering. “He showed up about ten years ago - about when you went to stay with the Shirai Ryu, I’m guessing. Mom ditched my birthday because she had a _responsibility_ ,” and Cassie’s fingers made air quotes around the word, her mouth twisting into a bitter expression for a moment, “to him. He’s a nice guy, one of my dad’s really good friends. It helps that Kenshi’s blind and Dad can’t make him watch movies, I guess.” She popped the fry into her mouth, chewing and thinking. “He’s a really good fighter, helped me out a lot when I was younger. Works a lot with General Blade - my mom, I mean.”

“You call her General?” Takeda felt his eyebrows climb towards his hairline.

“Aunt Sonya is… sometimes it’s hard to know where work ends and she starts.” Jacqui’s words were careful and deliberate, and Takeda turned his attention to her. She seemed more balanced and relaxed than her friend, and it was relaxing compared to the high-strung high-tension Cage beside her. “The Special Forces officer side of her is always on, and she really has issues with figuring out how to calm down.”

“My mom? Calm?” Cassie snorted and took a sip of her drink.

“When she comes by to see Dad, she is.” Jacqui shrugged, putting her burger down on the tray. “Aunt Sonya’s really good friends with my dad. Before he left the service - he was Special Forces, until he became a revenant, along with Scorpion - he was her CO. They’ve always been really good friends. My dad and your dad don’t exactly get along. They don’t… not-like each other? But Kenshi - your dad - isn’t the kind to just drop in for beers and bullshitting, and my dad doesn’t leave the farm.”

“Yeah. Kenshi’s either on base working with the General - he’s basically her executive officer and her partner - or he’s off somewhere, doing something.” Cassie gestured wildly with another fistful of fries. “And then he comes back and kicks my dad’s butt - or tries to, it usually goes fifty-fifty, maybe sixty-forty to your dad. He’s a good guy, but he’s just… uh… How do I put this.”

“Your dad is just as cocky as Mr. Cage. Won’t turn down a challenge, says he never loses. Can’t back down if his life depends on it.” Jacqui turned her warm brown eyes on Takeda, and he suddenly felt like he was being evaluated by her. He shifted slightly in his seat, widening his stance, throwing his shoulders back. “He’s a good guy, but he doesn’t like losing. If he thinks he’s going to, he won’t do it unless he’s challenged directly. And then he can’t _ever_ say no.” Her full lips parted in a grin, and Takeda couldn’t draw his attention away from her.

“Probably didn’t want to parent so he wouldn’t fuck things up and look bad.” Cassie’s voice was quick, sliding into the space before Takeda could speak.

“Cassie!” Jacqui punched her friend, and it landed with a thwack! into Cassie’s upper arm. Takeda tried to keep his surprise at her solid connection and good form, especially from a seated position. He turned his face towards his food instead; best to eat it before it went cold.

“It’s true,” Cassie retorted. “I mean, he’s reliable as fuck - at least for my parents. And he’s capable, he’s got his own apartment on the base and everything. And the telepathy and telekinesis is nice too - but, like, I know some of that is because he’s blind.”

“The telepathy is a family gift,” Takeda interjected.

“Can you do it too?”

He looked up at Jacqui’s question and the clear curiosity in her voice.

“I’m learning.”

“Oh, cool! What number am I thinking of?” Cassie closer her eyes and put her fingers on the sides of her head.

“Cass, come _on_.” Jacqui groaned. “Please. Give it a rest.”

Takeda closed his eyes and tried to blank out his mind; Cassie was close enough it was easy to pick up her thoughts, screaming loud and bright. Jacqui’s mind was so close - not nearly as loud and bright, a stiller and more even, restrained set of thoughts. He remembered an old adage he’d heard - still waters run deep - and wondered what lurked beneath the complacent waters of her mind. He thought about reaching out, dipping in -

But one thing he knew was that intruding when he hadn’t been invited was impolite, and both his father and his master would beat the life out of him if he dared. He turned his attention to Cassie’s blur of thoughts instead, and rolled his eyes.

“Bajillion isn’t a real number.”

“She’s not usually this bad,” Jacqui apologized some time later as they waited outside of General Blade’s house. Takeda turned slightly to face her, and caught her playing with one of her box braids. “She’s just… It’s rough on her. Aunt Sonya’s never gotten this close to actually dying before - well, I mean, the Blood Code thing aside, when Cassie actually stabbed her - and she’s not handling it well. She’s going all Hollywood superficial and dumb blonde and… well, all Cage.”

“Would it be better if she were like her mother?” Takeda didn’t have much of a grasp on the other woman. He’d only met her briefly, and the way they all had interacted on Shang Tsung’s island… none of them had really been themselves. He had, young and scared out of his mind but determined to do _right_ , but the rest of them… Cassie and Jacqui had tried to murder people. Sonya had taken the head off a… whatever it was… and then apologized and chatted to another four-armed person ( _were_ they people? Really?) like it meant nothing.

“If Cass shut down? Probably not. Then you can’t get anything out of her. She was like that when she called your dad, and it nearly scared the crap out of me, because she really _did_ sound like Aunt Sonya.” Jacqui chuckled, leaning back against the car and looking down the road. “So, how have you been since we, uh, tried to kill you?”

“Studying with the Shirai Ryu again. Rebuilding the order with Grandmaster Hasashi.” Takeda swallowed, dipping his fingers into his pocket and rubbing at the headband he’d kept close. He pulled it out, fastening it in place over his forehead, and was rewarded with a sunny smile from Jacqui.

“That’s - that means you’ve graduated, right?”

“Not graduated exactly. I’ve become chujin - it’s a rank in the Shirai Ryu.” He couldn’t keep the pride and satisfaction from his voice. “Fastest in a long time.”

“Well, I’m not surprised, given that you had some of the best teachers out there.” She turned to face him, opened her mouth, then closed it quickly.

“What were you going to say?”

“Never mind.”

“No, really.” Takeda tipped his head sideways, curiosity eating at him. “Tell me, I won’t be offended. Or ask me.”

“Just thinking that if you pulled that down over your eyes, you’d be the spitting image of your dad at your age, I bet.”

“He said he didn’t lose his sight until he was older.” Takeda reached up and ran his hands through his hair, trying to mess up his hair desperately so he did not look at all like his father. Maybe he’d let his hair grow out; that was an idea. He did not want to be his father’s clone, his father’s son. He was Grandmaster Hasashi’s more than Kenshi Takahashi’s, that was for certain. He’d do the Shirai Ryu proud, if nothing else. “I’m not much like him. Or at least, I don’t think I am.”

“Trying to get out of the shadow of your parents? I know what that’s like.” Jacqui sighed. “Dad doesn’t get off the farm much - ever, really. High school graduation was basically it. I’m kind of surprised he’s not here, really.”

“Doesn’t get out much?”

“You could say that.” Jacqui twisted her braids around a finger again, and sighed. “Never mind. It’s not worth going into now. How about you tell me what kind of stuff you want to try while you’re here? I bet your dad doesn’t expect you to live at the hospital like he’s probably going to.”

“I hadn’t… I hadn’t thought about it, really.”

“Hah.” Jacqui grinned at him again, and it was suddenly very hard to breathe. “Don’t worry, then. Cass and I will keep you busy.”


	3. Cassie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassie needles Kenshi.

“Go on up. We can wait.” Jacqui nudged Cassie in the shoulder. Cassie turned gratefully to her best friend, flashing a small smile. Jacqui had been there through everything, as long as Cassie could remember; this was no exception. The minute she’d gotten the phone call about her mother, she’d called her father - and then Jacqui. There was no way Jacqui’s dad was leaving the farm unless it was Sonya’s funeral, even for something like this.

“You sure? I can’t leave you and Takeda out here twiddling your thumbs.”

“We’ll go get something in the cafeteria and then you’ll be back down, or his dad will be.” Jacqui shrugged, and Cassie’s heart stopped twinging so tightly. Jacqui had always been the sensible one. Cassie reached over and squeezed her friend’s shoulder with gratitude. “Look, something happens - just call. I can also take Takeda out to the grocery store, since I bet if his dad is anything like your mom, the fridge is empty.”

“Let me see what’s going on upstairs, and then I’ll let you know.” Cassie flicked her eyes to Takeda, who shrugged. He was starting to look tired, and Cassie was sure he hadn’t really had any downtime since she’d called. Something low-key like picking out food would probably be just what he needed, and Jacqui was admittedly the easiest person “Actually - yeah, probably should hit the stores. I bet it’ll take him twice as long, knowing how it’s set up.” She reached into her pocket, pulling out her wallet, and thrusting a wad of cash at Jacqui. “Yo, Takeda. Let me see the ID card they gave you.”

“Why?” Baffled, he crossed his arms over his chest, stiffening.

“I need to see if it’s a dependent ID that lets you shop on base or if I gotta pull strings.” Cassie’s fingers moved in a beckoning gesture. “Just gimme the card.”

Resignedly, he reached into a pocket and thrust it at her. She glanced at it, and handed it back. “He’s got a dependent card, so just make sure you guys get food for a week. That should be enough money for that at least, anything else, call me and I’ll figure it out.”

Jacqui reached over and squeezed her shoulder in turn. “We’ve got it. I’ll call when we’re done, okay? I won’t terrify him too much with the cereal aisle or the existence of Pop-Tarts and Hot Pockets.”

“Don’t want him hopping the first flight back to Shirai Ryu HQ. Though I’d love to see what Scorpion - Master Hasashi - could do with some Hot Pockets.” Cassie flashed a grin that was designed to look cockier than she felt, her insides knotting up as she turned towards the hospital. Every step into the antiseptic and bleached halls brought her closer to a fundamental fear - that something had Happened while she was gone, and she’d lost her mother. Kenshi was reliable in a way neither of her parents were: if he said something, he did it, even if someone didn’t like what it was. And sometimes she definitely hated what he did, the risks he took alongside her mother, but he’d always managed to bring her back mostly in one piece. And he’d kept her father sober and out of relapsing more times than she cared to count.

There was no cluster of bodies around the door to her mother’s room, no sign that anything had changed, and the fist around her heart loosened ever so slightly. Her lungs had a little more space to breathe; she took a shuddering inhale. She nudged the door open fully and slipped inside as quietly as possible.

The room was silent except for the humming and beeping of equipment. She couldn’t tell if Kenshi was awake or asleep; he was sitting facing the door, chair pulled up as close to her mother as the hospital bed would allow.

“Yo, Kenshi. Is she…?”

Cassie could tell she’d startled him from the way he turned sharply, shoulder jerking towards her. She could see his hands, one gloved hand resting on his leg and the other, bare, over her mother’s, fingertips brushing the side of her hand. The movement stilled for a moment before resuming, a steady back-and-forth motion, the only sign of life in the room.

“She’s resting,” he replied softly, turning his head to face her. “I won’t lie and say she’s sleeping easily, but I don’t think you need to get her to the Jinsei or try to get Raiden in here.” His mouth pulled slightly as if he wanted to say something more, but then shook his head and lips pressed tight. “There was a little scare when you were gone, but nothing you need to worry about. I would have called if you did.”

She walked into the room and looked down at her mother’s body, lax in the bed. Covered in wires and tubes, equipment working to keep her alive, Sonya looked more ike a bad prop or extra on set somewhere than an actual person. Skin shouldn’t _be_ that color, for one. And her hair was never that messy; it needed to be rebraided. Cassie swallowed, and turned her attention to Kenshi. “What happened? And what did you find out? She’s still - still in there, right? Not a vegetable?”

“She’s definitely there, but her mind is difficult to follow. It isn’t perceiving any of this clearly, the way it would normally. She is… aware of some things, almost, but it isn’t even as if she’s dreaming. She’s aware people are here, but it’s hazy. She hears when we talk but it’s as if it’s through water. Touch she knows, but it’s like through gloves,” he spared a thin, wry smile, “or heavy clothes.” Cassie watched his fingers maintain a steady back-and-forth motion over her mother’s hand. “She knows we’re talking, but what is actually happening for her, even I cannot begin to parse. Coming out of this… I am not a physician, but I’m sure she’s going to struggle with knowing what is real and what she worries may be a hallucination. She’s going to need a lot of care and supervision.”

“Which means we’re going to have to figure out how to do it so she doesn’t know she’s being managed.” Cassie snorted, and reached around to brush hair away from her mother’s face. Sonya’s expression didn’t change, no twitch of muscle in response to the motion. The hand clenched around Cassie’s heart, tight and unforgiving.

“That’s what she pays me for,” Kenshi pointed out. Cassie half-laughed and rolled her eyes.

“Seriously. She’s got an actual XO… even I don’t know what you do, exactly.”

“Run ops with her so there’s someone outside her chain of command to haul her back in. Telepathy, telekinesis lend me to scouting and infiltration. Keep her on her toes with sparring so she doesn’t get - what is it she calls it?”

“Desk spread,” Cassie filled in. “Between her and Dad and even you and Uncle Jax - I can fight my way out of anything. But somehow I’m defeated by three pounds of electrified fatty bacon in meat suit.”

“Excuse me?” Kenshi pulled back, shoulders shifting in surprise-confusion-something she wasn’t sure of. Sometimes it was hard to remember he wasn’t as up on slang and and jargon as she or her father was.

“A brain. Hers. And how it works. Anyway… that’s it, from what you’ve been able to figure out, O Wise One?”

“Understanding your mother’s mind is an impossible feat. Do not feel bad about being unable to.” Kenshi offered her a smile, rubbing at his face with his free hand. “If anyone was able to, our lives would all be significantly easier. The doctors say it looks like the swelling is going down properly and she’ll be off the medication in a few days and ready to come out of the coma. And after that…it’s up to us.”

Cassie felt her mouth pull to one side as she watched him, fingers still moving like a metronome over her mother’s hand. His face was still too fucking neutral, the kind of placid and even look he had ninety-five percent of the time. Her mother had Resting Bitch Face, but Kenshi was the stereotype from which ‘expressionless Asian dude’ was born.

“Takeda and Jacqui are off on a resupply run… I’ll take back over here, and have Jacqui come grab you and bring you to your place-“

“You’ll head home,” interjected a voice from the door. Cassie spun around, shoes squeaking on the floor with the movement. One of the nurses stood in the doorway. “Miss Cage, between you and your father, she hasn’t had a minute to herself. The patient needs to rest. _He_ has at least been quiet - but she’s out of the weeds right now, and she needs time alone. Visiting hours resume again tomorrow at eight, and if there’s any change, rest assured - someone will call.”

“It’s my _mother_ ,” Cassie began, and felt Kenshi’s hand on her shoulder.

“Cassie, there’s nothing you or I can do now. She knows we’ve been here, and I’ve tried my best to ensure she knows that she’s safe, and with doctors.” Kenshi let go of Sonya’s hand and rose up easily. Her eyes followed him as he reached down again, adjusting something minutely in the way her hand lay waxen and limp on the top sheet. Only then, once he seemed to be satisfied, did he turn towards Cassie. “Let Jacqui know to bring Takeda back to my apartment - I assume she can find it? - and you can bring me there.”

“Fine.” Cassie swallowed around the lump in her throat, the idea of leaving her mother _alone_ a gut-twisting horror, worse than the realization of what she’d done under the Blood Code. If something happened, she’d be _alone_ , there wouldn’t be anyone here, she’d die cold and alone and not know-

“She won’t die alone.” Kenshi’s voice was quiet in her ear, pitched for her ears alone, and a layer to it Cassie couldn’t understand. Damned telepath. “I promise you, Cassie. Is there a single more stubborn woman ever to take a breath on this planet?”

“You know her too well.” Her voice cracked a little, and she swallowed again. “I’ll kill you if you’re wrong.”

“When am I ever wrong?”

She made a choked laugh and shook her head, guiding him out under the nurse’s watchful eyes, and down to the sports car waiting in the parking lot.

It was a quick drive back to his apartment. She’d done her fair share of ferrying him around, either on return trips form LA or picking him up to go down and spend time with her dad. It was the same bachelor pad it always was, though impeccably maintained because of his disability. The set of samurai armor on a stand in the living room still threw her, making her go on guard immediately. Kenshi settled his equipment aside and stepped into the small kitchen space, and she could see him moving with ease and confidence in the familiar territory. He filled a kettle with water, setting it to boil, and pulled down a mug and wooden box from a cupboard.

“Tea?”

“Pass, thanks.” She felt her nose wrinkle up at the thought of the grass-water he favored. He chuckled, and she watched him ready the leaves and reacquaint himself with the space as he waited for the kettle. He pulled off his gloves, tucking them into a pocket, and let his fingers glide over counters and cupboards, the faucet and the sink. She shifted awkwardly in the silence, unused to it. There was always music, or conversation, at her dad’s. This was just uncanny.

“My mom. You really know her, care about her, don’t you?”

“Cassie… of course I care about her, I’ve worked with her for years.” Kenshi’s expression was bland like oatmeal as he picked up the kettle just before it began to whistle, pouring water into the mug with practiced movements. A finger was tucked just inside the rim of the cup, she noticed; careful not to overfill it. “I’ve known her nearly as long as your father has, fought with her nearly as long. She’s my partner. I can’t work with her without caring about her and being able to predict her.”

“We didn’t know, Dad and I - with the divorce - if you were going to side with _her_ or with him.” She wasn’t sure why she said the words, offering them up in her still off-kilter state. His mouth tugged back, his expression inscrutable once more.

“They’re both my friends. I didn’t - and I will not - engage in picking sides. No one asked me to. I know how important she is to you - and you and your father are important to me, too. Why would I not do everything in my power to keep her - keep all of you - safe?” He looked in her direction, even if he couldn’t meet her eyes.

“It’s more than that.” Cassie swallowed. Something had been bothering her, the way he’d been touching her hand like he needed it for himself as much as for her. The way he’d made pretty denials and then hopped on a plane almost immediately. She wanted the answer, and he was dodging it. “Are you dating my mother?”

He paused with the mug halfway to his lips, then lowered it back down. His face was as square-on to her as she could have hoped for. “I’m not dating your mother.” If it was a lie, it was a smooth one; she’d give him credit for that. She watched him through narrowed eyes, certain she looked as suspicious as she felt. “Have you ever tried to schedule anything with her? It’s a miracle she finds time to eat. She couldn’t manage to date anyone if her life depended on it. Any more questions about her personal life and her decisions,” he continued, “you’ll need to ask her. It isn’t my role - or business - to tell you about her private life.”

“Like she’ll actually tell me,” Cassie grumbled. “God, I almost wish you _were_ fucking her, because then maybe she’d loosen up a little.”

Kenshi made a choked noise into his mug. She almost thought she might see the faint hint of a flustered expression on his face, and that niggling suspicion deepened.

“Good luck telling her that and surviving.”

“Oh come on, give me more credit than _that_.” She knew better - her mother would murder her. Or at least she’d wish she was dead, between the obstacle course and latrine duty she’d have until she was fifty. “If she had to be banging somebody, at least I _know_ you. It’s not like some guy she picked up in a bar. Not like she’d even _know_ how to pick someone up in a bar,” Cassie added, shaking her head. “She has the social graces of a honey badger and the protective instincts of a grizzly bear. Can you imagine my mother in a bar, trying to pick up a one-night stand?”

“Thankfully, I cannot. I can’t argue with either of those comparisons, either,” Kenshi agreed. “She’s not the easiest person, but she loves fiercely when she does.” His shoulders dropped slightly, easing.

“Dad at least I can predict. He’ll flirt with everything under the sun - and the moon. I can prepare myself for that, I know what to expect. And I refuse to think about life beyond flirting.” Cassie shuddered. “Mom? I don’t even know.”

“Can we please not discuss your mother’s relationships?” His voice sounded faintly strained, a little high and tight, and she heard echoes of Takeda’s tension in it. She might not have picked up on it if she hadn’t spent so much time in Hollywood, hearing actors and the fine, subtle nuances voice could bring to something. She’d become an expert in body language and voice cues, and right now, Kenshi was showing some she was suspiciously sure she knew.

“Holy shit.” She pointed a finger at him, almost waggling it. “I _know_ that voice. That’s the I-have-something-I-don’t-want-to-talk-about voice. I know, because that’s like Voice Number Four you learn in Hollywood.” Her stomach churned. She couldn’t tell if it was horror or giddy relief or dismay or some kind of mixture of it all, but she suddenly felt nauseous and horrified, a train wreck she couldn’t look away from. A train wreck of her own devising, and she just couldn’t stop. “ _You want to fuck my mother._ You don’t just _care_ about her, in that platonic way that says you’ll save her ass from her own brave stupidity.” She felt herself go pale, blood rushing from her face.

“Cassie-“ His shoulders were trying to climb up to his ears, but she could see the pressure he was using to keep them down. The way his jaw tipped, the muscles tightening in his neck, even the whiteness of his knuckles as he adjusted the grip on his mug. She’d kill for a look at his eyes, blind though they might be. They were hidden under his blindfold, and she couldn’t check for creases at the corners or the hint of an arched brow that would give her a clue. “We’re not discussing this.”

Those were the words that said she had him in a corner. She knew she had him, and a sense of victory rushed through her hot on the heels of that nausea and shock. Finally, after so long, something going her way. And especially with Kenshi, so damn hard to pin down. “That’s why you got back so fast, even though you were playing it cool? You didn’t want me to know. Is that why you’ve been working with her? Fuck — no! You’ve been pining? Please don’t tell me you’ve been _pining_ over her, in some stupid star-crossed lovers thing-“

“We’re not discussing this.” Kenshi put a hand out flat, voice icy. It sealed the deal for her - the confirmation that made her stomach roil again, the claws around her heart shift and dig into new and uncomfortable places.

“Methinks thou doth protest too much. Does Dad know? Wait, of course he doesn’t - and I won’t tell him, either.” Cassie added after a moment. “But _you have a thing for Mom_ -“

“Cassie,” Kenshi said through gritted teeth in a tone she recognized - the one that sounded a little too much like her mother, and enough like her father when he actually got angry - that she stopped, teeth clicking shut. “This is between myself and the General. I do not need any third parties involving themselves in my personal relationships. Particularly when I have just gotten to have a tolerable relationship with my son, who believes I abandoned him and his mother.”

“You’ve got a point. That would put a real damper on things with Takeda, wouldn’t it?”

“It would,” Kenshi said firmly. “Let me address the matter with your mother, if I choose to do so. My private life is mine.”

“Copy,” Cassie said, but she knew as well as he did that it wasn’t something she’d give up on. Not while she held something over him, anyway.

How much more fucked could things _get_? Kenshi had a crush on her _mother_. Cassie pulled her pillow down over her face and groaned into it. She’d give her mother credit where it was due - Sonya had kept herself in really good shape, and she was smart, and she had a hell of a lot of authority, but still - it was _General Blade_. It’d be fucking the uniform, with the stick she had up her ass. Cassie could barely remember the last emotional moment she’d had with her mother that hadn’t led to Cassie being discounted or punished in some way or another. The idea of getting her mom open and relaxed enough for anything… she moaned into the pillow again. Bad choice of words for _sure_.

Cassie didn’t have a boyfriend (or a girlfriend - she wouldn’t be picky, though she wasn’t entirely sure she even _wanted_ either of them), and her mother had at least two guys after her. She was pushing fifty and -

No. Stop thinking that way. That way led to, madness, big black dots, and nightmares. Her mother’s sex life was absolutely _not_ something she wanted to think about.

“This might actually be the worst day of my life,” she complained into the pillow. “It might actually be my new low.”

“Bad news, Cass?” Her father’s voice carried in from the door.

Shit.

She rolled over and pulled the pillow off her face to stare at him, tongue leaden in her mouth. He looked like hell, and if she told him the newest of the news, it wouldn’t help the situation at all.

“No, no. Kenshi says she’s there, just not sure how to react to anything. Kinda like a dream state. It’s all… hazy.” There - that was simple, that was easy, and a hundred percent the truth. “But she’s there, as much as she can be, so she’s not brain-dead.”

“Trust the telepath.” Johnny shrugged, yawning broadly and scratching at the stubble on his face. “If there was anything to worry about, he’d tell us.”

“You think so?”

“He’s a good guy, Cass. He can keep a secret if he needs to - it’s why he’s as good at what he does as he is - and he knows your mom. Probably better than I do, at this point.” Her father shrugged. “But if he says she’s still in there, that’s all we can hope for. Probably should head back to the city before she wakes up and knows I was here, and rips someone a new asshole over it.”

“Tomorrow. God knows I need sleep.”

“Come get me if you get a call.” His voice was as dry as Death Valley. “I’m in the guest room.”


	4. Kenshi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fought with me. There may be an epilogue; it can't quite decide yet. ;)

It felt good to be sparring again.

Swinging fists and feet in the ring, grappling, exchanging blows. This was where he _belonged_ , matching skill to skill, despite his blindness. He was better than everyone in the room and he was going to prove it. Kenshi went through half a dozen of Sonya’s soldiers like they were the barest apprentices before Takeda faced off against him. The two of them jockeyed for the upper hand until Kenshi’s experience won out over Takeda’s youth. There was steady relief to be found in the grunts and groans, the whistle of air past his movements, the pounding heartbeats and heaving lungs that meant a good match. Better, the way he was learning his son - his impulses and his control, the skill honed by the Shirai Ryu. This was how it should be.

Kenshi felt a pang of regret he had missed so much of Takeda’s training - but how could the blind man teach the sighted child to fight? All the things they should have had - could have had - and there had to be time to make up some of it. The distraction was enough to give Takeda an edge for a few moments, landing a pair of punches before Kenshi could throw up a block and move out of range again.

It was close, and Kenshi wasn’t entirely certain he would have managed another four minutes. Takeda’s vitality just might have been the deciding factor when it came to endurance. He’d never let that past his lips, however - he managed a nod, and a friendly clap to Takeda’s shoulder as he helped his son rise. “Good match.”

He used the opportunity as a chance to gauge Takeda’s skills and set his son to face off against the soldiers who still enjoyed martial arts work, excited and intrigued by a new sparring partner - and one trained in a new, unorthodox manner they weren’t used to.

“This would be easier if I had my whips,” Takeda grumbled. Kenshi snorted.

“Learn to fight them without first. Then you can have all the kunai and whips and other tricks Hanzo taught you. Gauge them - learn how they fight, too. There’s no purpose in giving them more leverage than they need. It’s training for them as well as you.”

Takeda had grumbled, but hadn’t pushed the matter any further - especially after he won the next two bouts against some of Sonya’s better troopers.

They retired to the locker room, and Kenshi was changing out of his sparring gear when he felt the vibration of his phone with a newly-arrived voicemail. He paused, pulling on a fresh shirt over shower-damp skin, tucking it into his jeans. Only once he was properly settled and dressed did he feel around in the duffel pocket and pull out the small cell phone. Pressing the phone to his ear, the placid automated announcement declared he had three messages, the first from Cassandra Cage, left half an hour ago.

“Kenshi, something happened, she coded, she’s-“ A choked sound, a word Cassie couldn’t say and he didn’t want to here. There was the loud voice of a doctor saying ”get her out of the room”, and muffled noises and rapid-fire speaking. The rest was garbled, as panicked messages from teenagers often were.

He heard all the constrained, controlled concern in the voices in the background. They continued, dropping lower, as Cassie was unceremoniously escorted from the room. She found her voice again. Sonya had stopped breathing, she said. Her heart stopped beating. They’d spent a few minutes trying to bring it back before she called him, but Sonya wasn’t responding. He needed to get to the hospital _now_ , he was closest-

Thirty minutes ago, or nearly. When he had been feeling the satisfaction and adrenaline rush of success of outwitting someone in the training room, knowing Takeda looked on and was learning what he could before taking another turn against Kenshi. He’d been happy, reveling in pleasure, while one of his best friends - his lover - had been dying. He’d been flaunting his skill in front of his somewhat estranged son, while his lover’s daughter had called him for help.

He pressed his eyes shut, his heart squeezed with the tension. The call cut off abruptly. His heart plummeted into his boots and through the floor. His fingers held the phone, muscles unwilling - or unable - to move. Cassie’s voice kept going but he couldn’t follow any of it, as if her English had dropped into a nonsense language. He felt as though his hearing had gone along with his sight.

_Dead._

Dead and he had been - doing what? Playing, like a child? Reckless and without a thought, a care? He’d been full of assurances that she would be fine. She was at the base hospital, the best in the country - possibly the world. She would be fine.

What an arrogant fool he’d been.

“Kenshi? What is it?” Takeda’s voice, gone low with worry and mingled with confusion, and the feeling of his presence closer, within arm’s reach, but hesitant to make contact.

_Dead like Suchin._

Dead, and her death was his fault. She wouldn’t have been in this position if he hadn’t gone to fulfill his obligations to Takeda, but she had encouraged it. He’d told her not to do anything impulsive - anything he or Cage would do - and yet…

 _Dead_. The word reverberated in his head.

He shifted, and tried to focus again on Cassie’s voice halfway through the second message. He’d have to listen to the first again, find out what else she said, but he had to listen to the rest of the messages first.

“Dad? Kenshi? What the hell just happened?” Takeda sounded worried - and he’d shifted to Japanese. It was clear and pierced like a blade through his confusion. That concern was new and novel and some other time, he might have been curious about that. As it was, Kenshi couldn’t be bothered to respond. Everything drained out him, hollowing him out as the depth of his failure sunk into him. He was on the base, not hundreds of miles away. He’d been complacent, confident, having fun.

Cassie’s voice continued, rough but steady. Sonya had a normal sinus rhythm again, but was having some kind of reaction to something, or some injury had gotten worse, and they were taking her in for tests.

Relief trickled into the hollow spaces. _Normal_ was good. Sonya was rarely normal, so it was surprising, but better than he could have hoped. She’d be outraged if she knew he was even thinking that, and he carried the idea of her explosive anger at that close to his heart. She’d be angry, but that meant she would be alive.

The third call - the one he’d just received - was that Cassie would really, really like it if he would get his ass to the hospital _now_ , fuck him very much. She sounded a little like her normal self, but not much.

Kenshi swallowed around the obstacle in his throat. He cleared his throat, closing the phone and tucking it into the corner of the duffel bag with composure he did not in the least feel. “Can you go find one of your opponents and commandeer us a ride to the hospital? There’s been a complication.”

He sensed the roiling thoughts and emotions long before he reached Cassie. He should be keeping a clear mind, yet all hope of that had been abandoned the minute he’d had a chance to calm himself from Cassie’s initial call. All he could think about were the words rolling around in his head, the desperation and need in her voice. _She coded._ That Sonya was dead - had been dead - and Cassie had called him. He was sure it was founded on that sneaking suspicion she knew how much her mother meant to him. She’d called him, and he’d disappointed her, much like he’d disappointed his own son.

He felt his hand form a fist, and spread it out as wide as he could to release the energy and tension in it. Thankfully, Takeda hadn’t pried. Then again, after years under Hanzo’s care, he wasn’t entirely surprised: Takeda had developed some discretion. More than most young men his age. Kenshi took a controlled breath as he turned the corner towards the mental and emotional storm of Cassandra Cage, Takeda at his side. They were good warriors and good children, despite the benign neglect of their parents. He owed it to Sonya to see Cassie supported, and Takeda didn’t seem to begrudge it.

Either that was Suchin’s se

He sat down in one of the waiting room chairs next to Cassie, Takeda next to him on the other side. It squeaked a little as he sat down, taking a breath. The antiseptic smell of the hospital almost overpowered everything else - salty tears, and fury, and exhaustion.

“You didn’t call back,” she accused immediately. Her voice was rough and thick with emotion, and he didn’t hesitate to use his telepathy. _Sadness, anger, frustration, fear, desperation_. An image of Sonya in the hospital bed, surrounded by doctors and nurses and equipment and the painful warning beeping of equipment. The even looks between them, Cassie being pushed from the room.

“I didn’t have my phone.” He offered no excuse, only a reason.

“She _died_ and they don’t know what’s wrong, she’s in surgery now. They think something opened up, or started, and it fucked with her heart and…” Cassie cut herself off, swallowing loudly. “You said she’d be fine.”

He could feel worry from Takeda as well, and the faintest hint of sympathy for Cassie. _Dead mom_ was a feeling he knew all too well. _Dead mom and Kenshi nowhere to be found. Cassie wasn’t alone in that at least_.

It was another blow - painfully accurate, and one Kenshi hadn’t been guarding against.

“I’m excellent in many ways, Cassie, but I’m not a doctor. And you know your mother.” He reached out for Cassie’s shoulder carefully, and found it slumped down, dejected, in the chair. Cautiously he reached over and spread a hand on her back. “She’s got to give us all a hard time. But she’s too stubborn to go so easily. She’s going to make them work for it. And she has far too much unfinished business.”

“Right.” He felt Cassie’s muscles shift, and the wet sound of a sucked-in sniffle. “I was there, just sitting with her, and suddenly she flatlined. Like - just _gone_. She might not come out of there, and the last conversation… fuck, the last conversation I had with her, she was still arguing I should go to college, but I’m not going to, I’m going straight into the army. We fought the last time we talked.” He felt her shudder under his hand, and sag with a heavy sigh. “Like we do every time we talk.”

“I know this won’t make it easier, but I know what it’s like to lose your mom.” Takeda’s voice was gentle, and careful. “From everything I hear about your mom - and I remember fighting with you guys - she’s going to make it hard to keep her down. And, I mean, she’s in a hospital surrounded by people who can make cybernetic arms if they have to. I bet they’ve got a plan.” He swallowed audibly. “But I bet… Kenshi? Can… can we call Raiden and Fujin?”

Cassie sniffed again, and Kenshi squeezed her shoulder. There was a faint glimmer of relief and hope flickering in her, and he was worried about how quickly it might snuff out.

“That is a good plan. Once she’s out of surgery, I will reach Raiden and tell him to bring her to the jinsei chamber. We need to be certain she can survive such a trip unaided, but if anyone can restart a heart, it will be him. And Fujin has enough compassion to temper his logic if he argues.”

“I can’t do it again, Kenshi.” Cassie’s voice was a whisper, soft enough only he could hear. He felt more movement under his hand as she shifted. “Swear to fucking God - all of them - I can’t do it again. I was there, and she was - everything was like it should have been, and then it wasn’t. I’m not letting her go.”

“I will wait,” Kenshi said, squeezing her shoulder again. “When is the last time you ate?”

“I can’t eat-“ She caught herself, and he heard another explosive sigh and a sniff. “I’ll go hit the bathroom and clean up.”

“At least he’s not dragging you over half the world,” Takeda offered. “Let’s go grab something to eat and I’ll tell you about when he picked me up out of Thailand. I was eight, and we got chased halfway into the mountains…”

“Sounds good.” Kenshi heard a sound he couldn’t place, and another sniffle. “Anything changes-“

“I’ll call,” Kenshi reassured her. “Immediately.”

One of the nurses came out to update him several hours later. Her voice was warm but serious and even, as he’d expect from a soldier and a medical professional besides. General Blade was still in critical condition, but they believed they’d found the problem, and the surgeons were hard at work resolving it. Kenshi had no reservations about decorum and pried into her mind - _thank God it’s him and not the daughter, don’t tell him we lost her twice more, she’s a mess but she should pull through - no, not that-_

“We’re optimistic,” the nurse appended, and Kenshi got the feeling she was glad he was blind, that she didn’t have to keep a cheerful face on.

“I’ll let her daughter know.”

“General’s not going to make it easy on any of us,” the nurse added with an attempt at gentle levity. “She’s got to give us all hell even when she’s not conscious.”

He dipped his head in acknowledgement, though it did nothing for the churning of his stomach. “Makes sure we’re always on our toes.”

“She’s always the worst patient we ever have,” the nurse added. “All right, I’ve got to get back in there. Just letting you know.”

He pressed his fingertips into his eyes, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

He was going to have words with Sonya when she woke. Lots of them.

She just had to wake up first.

It took less convincing than any of them expected to get Raiden to come to the Special Forces base and bring Sonya to the jinsei chamber. It had taken far more convincing to allow the doctors to let her out of their care when she was finally wheeled out of surgery. None of them were enthusiastic about entrusting General Blade to someone who was not a medical professional, regardless of whether or not that individual was a deity.

Kenshi was almost confident they agreed just so Raiden’s presence would stop almost shorting out half of the electrical equipment in the room.

“Are you coming?” Takeda asked Cassie, as Kenshi shouldered a pair of bags full of gear, adjusting Sento over his shoulder.

“No. I’m - I need to be here for Dad right now.” Her voice didn’t tremble, exuding confidence Kenshi was certain she didn’t feel. “Lord Raiden knows I’ll come kick his ass if anything happens to General Mom anyway.”

“Your mother is important to us all, Cassandra Cage. She will be taken care of.”

“I’m sure someone’s going to be with her twenty-four seven.” Her voice was targeted at Kenshi, he was sure of it. A hint of smugness there. “Just make sure she gets back here.”

“As soon as she is awake, we will let you know,” Kenshi promised her. “I’m sure she will be pleased to see you.”

‘Yeah, well.” He didn’t need his vision to know the shrug that followed. “I don’t think she could be in better hands. Just get her out of here before the doctors change their minds, okay?”

“Uh, Cassie… Will you tell Jacqui I said goodbye?” Takeda’s voice was the one sounding a little shaky, and Kenshi hid the grin that wanted to pull his lips up. Cassie made a snorting laugh.

“I’ll text you her number. You can tell her yourself.”

Takeda’s pained silence was all the response he needed.

Raiden cradled Sonya’s body as if she were a child rather than a full grown woman, and enfolded them all in light, and they were gone. Kenshi felt the odd sensation of teleportation, a thousand tiny static jolts and a faint electric hum, followed by the burst of energy that signaled their arrival near to the jinsei chamber. The heavy door scraped open, and Kenshi felt the wash of vibrant life energy wash over him, almost blinding his senses. He’d spent years regaining his skills after the incident with Shang Tsung and Sento when he’d lost his sight, but this place only made him remember the anguished moments after, feeling useless and weak and in excruciating pain.

He loathed the feeling and the memory, but that was the jinsei chamber, whether he liked it or not.

After Raiden had settled Sonya, assuring himself the chamber’s energies were already working on her, he had drawn Takeda aside for a hushed conversation. Kenshi stepped outside, and messaged Cassie to let her know Sonya was as stable as they could expect - for now. Her voicemail response was swift and sure: _Good, otherwise I’d kill you. Make sure that doesn’t change and she calls when she’s ready. And you call when she’s up._

Which, knowing Sonya, might not be for a week until after she was conscious again. Facing Cassie down was something she could do entirely on her own, as far as he was concerned. The last thing he wanted was that child getting more suspicions about their private relationship - _pining_. Bullshit.

Takeda cleared his throat, and Kenshi could hear him shifting on his feet. “I think it’s about time I head back to the Shirai Ryu.” He could hear the frown in Takeda’s voice as well, the unsure tenor of his voice.

“Takeda…” Kenshi turned to face him, reaching out a hand. “You don’t need to go.”

“Look, I just - wait, no. I mean… ah, fuck,” the younger man swore. “Look, this is a mess and I’m just making it more complicated, because you have to deal with me too. And it’s not like I haven’t been to the Sky Temple before, but there’s nothing for me to do here, and you’re busy. I can get in touch with you now, too. But Master Hasashi needs to know what’s going on. He’s an ally of General Blade’s, isn’t he? And I have commitments with the clan. I’m your son, yeah - but I’m Shirai Ryu, too. I have responsibilities and I’ve been away…” He trailed off.

“That’s a fair assessment,” Kenshi ceded with a nod. “And Hanzo is not always the most forgiving of masters.”

“You’ve got that right,” Takeda grumbled, and then let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll be in touch, okay? Raiden’s offered to bring me back, he says he has some business with the Grandmaster anyway. I - uh - I appreciate all this. It’s been weird, but it’s been good.”

Kenshi paused, lips thinning as he thought. At least he wasn’t fleeing, or running away without forewarning - tactics he knew Cassie had both employed in dealings with her parents. Takeda was a good young man, solid and upright and determined; Suchin would have been proud.

Kenshi was.

“I owe you apologies, Takeda. None of it will make up for what has happened in the past, but I owe you apologies, and explanations, and I intend to make good on it.”

“You owe me a lot,” his son agreed promptly. “But now - after this… I get some of it. Seeing what you do, and everything - I get why it would have been hard to raise a kid. The clan was a good choice. Master Hasashi has been a good master.” He paused, and Kenshi could hear his son’s heartbeat kick up slightly. “You’ve got people here. I guess they’re like your clan, your family, too.”

“I don’t-“

“Oh, come on. Like you’d go back for just anybody. And you saw - well, heard - how Cassie reacted. She called _you_ , not her dad. And Jacqui said she’s named for Sonya. They’re close as clan, as family, to you. I don’t like that you lied to me, that you hid the truth from me.” Takeda’s voice wavered slightly, and then Kenshi felt his heartbeat quicken slightly more, and push onward. “But maybe it’s hard when you can’t see what’s in front of you. I don’t like that you asked Master Hasashi to lie to me. I didn’t like it, and I still don’t, but maybe you’re not the asshole I thought you were.”

“Thank you,” Kenshi replied dryly, trying not to be taken aback by Takeda’s words, “for the vote of confidence.” He reached out to clap Takeda on the shoulder, only to find himself being embraced by his son for the first time. The contact was shocking, brief as it was, before Takeda stepped back.

“Take care of yourself, okay? There’s still a lot we’ve gotta discuss, but… this isn’t the time.”

“I appreciate it. We haven’t yet determined the full extent of your abilities, so do not overexert yourself. It could do serious injury to you, and that is something I would rather avoid.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure Master Hasashi will keep me exhausted, one way or another. Rebuild the Shirai Ryu, train new recruits, run missions… I’ll be busy.”

“I will come check in,” Kenshi promised. He clasped Takeda’s forearm firmly. “Once she is back up.”

“Shouldn’t take long. I remember my time in the jinsei.” Takeda sounded cocky, confident. “I’ll need a couple of weeks at least, though. So-“

“I won’t intrude on the clan.” Kenshi stepped back. “Let me know when you want me to come by, or you can message me. I’ll make the time.”

“Hold you to it, old man.”

“Hey now. Old?” He didn’t have to feign indignation, feeling his brows furrow.

There was a laugh then, and Kenshi knew there would be a grin, too.

“Compared to me? Don’t deny it.”

He dipped his head with his own lips quirked slightly upwards. _Children._

He sat beside Sonya’s still body, one leg stretched out and the other drawn up near his chest, and waited. Her chest rose and fell with a shallow, reassuringly steady rhythm. It was almost enough to lull him into a sense of security. He was wary of complacency, especially when it came to her. He kept one hand loosely beside hers, close enough to feel her skin warm and her pulse continue to beat in her veins. It got stronger as he sat with her. He lost track of time, dropping off into a half-sleep more than once.

He woke sharply when he felt her fingers weave themselves between his own and tug gently, a conscious and willful movement.

“Not the face I expected to see when I woke up.” Her voice was hoarse with disuse. “What’s wrong? You look like shit. Aren’t you supposed to be with your son? For that matter - where the hell are we?”

There was no better sound than that voice. He let out a little breath through his nose, trying to steady the roil of emotions in him. Worry, frustration, but relief most of all. If she’d woken with honeyed words on her lips, he would have been concerned. But her voice sounded stronger as she took things in, and he heard her move to sit upright.

“Our time was cut short when your daughter called and threatened to tell the Special Forces I let you die if I didn’t get back to bully you into surviving whatever mess you’d escaped.” He took a deep breath, tightening his fingers with hers. “Takeda returned with me. We ran some of your squads through the wringer. He also met Jacqui and Cassie. Now he’s back with the Shirai Ryu… Cassie is in Los Angeles keeping her father under control.”

“She did _what_?” Her fingers with his shifted as she sat up, and he felt her other hand spread out over his thigh and squeeze gently. “She’s - I’m going to kill her. Hell… how long have I been out? I’m parched.”

“There should be water here, but once we’re sure you’re healed enough, we can go up and get you fed properly, and make all the necessary calls. And you’ve been out for at least four days. Though I’m not sure how long we’ve been down here. Little difficult for even the blind man to tell without a window to know when it’s warm with sun or not.”

“Ah… good. Found it.” He felt her move again, the comforting warmth of her hands vanishing from him. “Bad if you dragged my ass here to the jinsei… So Cassie called you and bullied you, huh?” She might have sounded impressed, or pleased; it was hard to tell. He heard the slosh of water poured into a cup, and the soft sound of desperate, thirsty swallowing.

“That isn’t all she did,” Kenshi continued, his lungs taking in a little more air with every breath. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to kiss her or choke her with the complacent way she seemed to be handling this. Half the world could be on fire and she would react the same way as if she’d stubbed her toe, with a mild curse; only the Black Dragon, her daughter, and paper cuts yielded any sort of fiery response these days. He paused, and felt his lips twitch in a smug smile. “She then accused me of having a crush on you. Of _pining_ , I believe were her words.”

Sonya’s camel impression broke into coughing and spluttering as droplets of water sprayed across his face and hands. She struggled to catch her breath, wheezing and indignant more than genuinely harmed.

It wasn’t easy to catch the General off-guard, but by all the gods, he loved doing it.

“For that,” she wheezed, “I’m going to kill you. Both of you.”

“Looking forward to it.”


End file.
